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There are two themes Bill O'Brien has asked every Penn State fan to consider in the days after the disappointing season-opening loss to Ohio.

One is that his Nittany Lions are predominantly a young team. In fact, every skill position player they started on offense last Saturday, with the exception of senior quarterback Matt McGloin, was seeing his first extended game action.

The other is that young teams typically have plenty to learn.

There were no shortage of talking points come practice time for the Nittany Lions as they prepared to face Virginia on Saturday in Charlottesville, and O'Brien insists that despite the climate at Penn State, despite the off-field issues and depth problems focused on by the media, the difference between winning and losing at Virginia will be determined by whether his team can make plays it didn't against the Bobcats.

"We turned it over, they didn't turn it over," O'Brien said. "They converted on 3rd down in the second half on offense, we didn't convert on our offense on 3rd down in the second half. We had chances to break passes up, make interceptions. We had chances to hit guys that were wide open or catch the ball being wide open, and we did not make those plays and Ohio did.

"Again, there's no excuses to be made there but we have, in many areas, a young football team. In other areas a little bit more veteran team. So the veterans need to play better, and the younger guys are going to get better."

One area several players noticed needed immediate improvement just after Saturday's game: finishing off drives.

The Nittany Lions had several drives that started well and ended with a thud. Their opening drive amassed 67 yards over 11 plays, but Bill Belton fumbled at the Ohio 21.

Twice in the second half, with chances either to extend a dwindling lead or tie the game, the Nittany Lions had drives of better than eight plays. Neither resulted in points. Their opening drive of the third quarter went 11 plays, but died at the Ohio 30 when McGloin overshot Allen Robinson in the end zone on fourth-and-5.

With the score 17-14 in the fourth, the Nittany Lions started a drive at their 22, drove into Ohio Territory in four plays, and then got stymied. They failed to gain a yard after a first-and-10 at the Ohio 46.

"It's just an experience thing," McGloin said. "There were lots of guys playing their first games out there, and I guess they just didn't know what to expect. We did put together a lot of nice drives Saturday. But we couldn't finish.

"We've been preparing hard in practice, but that's no substitute for game reps. With those nine- or 10-play drives, we've just got to push harder, finish off those drives and hopefully put points on the board."

Executing in the clutch comes with experience, but it isn't something that can be completely ignored in practice, either.

Tight end Kyle Carter said that even though the tens of thousands of fans and the atmosphere of a game can't be replicated on a practice field, the same principles that can get a young team over the hump in games are the same ones that can be fine-tuned every day during the week.

"It's just getting the ball, throwing it to the right person, that person catching the ball and then everybody making their blocks," Carter said. "It's getting the right assignments, don't miss the ball and get to the sticks. Experience has something to do with it as well, and we're still a young team on offense, except at quarterback. But this is just something we're going to have to get used to."

The Nittany Lions hope they can get used to making key plays soon, so they don't have to get used to the same results throughout the fall. They can do that, they say, if they stay together and stay patient.

"After everything we've been through, I don't see anything tearing us apart as a team," fullback Michael Zordich said. "The big thing will be having a short-term memory. Forget what happened...

"Actually, don't forget what happened. Learn from what happened."

Contact the writer: dcollins@timesshamrock.com

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